IT Solutions, Support, & Security Blog | iCorps Technologies

Managed Security Becoming a Common Approach for Businesses

According to new research, more and more companies in the United States and across the world are looking for IT services providers able to supply managed security services. Growth rates for managed security services were strong throughout 2011, the last year for which complete data is available. This drive toward managed security services had two prime motivations when it came to small and medium-sized businesses: higher rates of efficiency in terms of return on investment, and lower overall costs.

The cost savings that can be realized through a managed security approach generally materialize because of efficiencies of scale, with small businesses no longer needing to hire an extra IT security person since under an MSS model, they can instead hire a firm that itself serves a large client base.

A recent study of the managed security services market has concluded that while the economic slowdown, that began in 2008 or even 2007 depending on the markers involved, has negatively affected many sectors of the economy, it has actually caused the outsourced IT support field to grow. This is unsurprising when one considers the core ‘mission’ of a managed security model is to provide organizations with strong computer and network security at a lower cost than they could achieve on their own. In an era of cost-cutting and streamlining operations, it makes perfect sense for businesses to move away from using in-house staff for all IT functions, particularly when those functions can be provided at a lower cost by moving to an outsourced IT model.

A second reason for the increasing popularity of managed services in recent years is the expertise factor. Small businesses in particular find it difficult to attract the kind of talent that is needed in the current threat environment. By moving to an outsourced IT approach, small companies can tap into a deep well of expertise that can help to keep them fully up-to-date so that the newest threats can be mitigated. This advantage of managed security services becomes all the more important as cyber threats continue to become increasingly complex and difficult to defend.

The current regulatory environment has also caused many businesses to move to outsourced support. Businesses must have ways to provide robust security for personal information such as financial data and medical records. All of these factors mean that remotely managed security services are playing a key role in more businesses, helping them to improve operations even as they reduce overhead.